Pregnancy Causes Different Fears

October 13, 1985|Special to the News/Sun-Sentinel

Pregnancy is a time of hopes and fears, of dreams -- and nightmares.

Doctors describe a pattern of highs and lows during pregnancy, according to an article in the October issue of Harper`s Bazaar, and one doctor even says he can tell the stage of a woman`s pregnancy by her dreams.

``It`s possible to tell how far along a woman is in her pregnancy by hearing her describe her dreams,`` said Dr. Arthur Colman, clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California in San Francisco. ``Consciousness is altered in fairly predictable patterns throughout the nine months.``

During the first three months or trimester, the rise in estrogen and progesterone may cause fatigue and morning sickness.

``Women who have suffered from premenstrual syndrome or who have had adverse reactions to the Pill may be especially prone to these fluctuations,`` said Dr. Niels Lauersen, clinical professor of obstetrics/gynecology at New York Medical College.

This is when a woman faces the fact that her life will never again be the same. She also worries about miscarriage until the doctor detects a fetal heartbeat.

The second three months of pregnancy may be the best, said Dr. Marya Anna Friederich, clinical associate professor of obstetrics/gynecology and psychiatry at the University of Rochester School of Medicine.

Women are more comfortable physically as the body adjusts to pregnancy. They switch their focus from themselves to the baby.

``They feel it move, sense it as a separate individual,`` she said.

The third trimester, according to the story in the magazine`s ``Special Guide Section to a Healthy Over-30 Pregnancy,`` brings ``prepartum blues.``

``A lot of women don`t feel as attractive as they did a few months along,`` Lauersen said. ``They`re emotionally down because they`re heavier, tired, bloated.``

Women in the final trimester often feel irritable, anxious and mildly depressed. The uterus begins to press on other organs. The stomach is pushed up and flattened, causing indigestion and heartburn. Pressure on the lungs can make breathing difficult.

``A major concern is `Will my baby be normal?` `` said Elisabeth Bing, a certified childbirth educator and pioneer in promoting the Lamaze technique. ``This question isn`t voiced frequently, but when I actually ask women if they are worried, they say yes. Sonograms help reassure them.``

Women also fear the pain of childbirth.

``There is anticipation of enormous discomfort, of tremendous stress,`` Bing said. ``Women say, `I can`t stand a lot of pain. How will I cope with it? I`d like to have a natural birth, with as little medication as possible, but will I give up in the middle?` This issue looms very large.``

Diana Simkin, co-founder and director of Family Focus Inc. in New York City, calls the final month a trimester in itself.

``From the 34th to 40th weeks,`` she said, ``women begin to zero in on what it will be like to be a mother.``

Childbirth classes provide an expectant mother with a forum for expressing her fears and alleviating the blues, but some women are too frightened to attend. That is unfortunate, Eileen Stukane wrote in Harper`s Bazaar, because obstetricians and other pregnant women can be the most understanding counselors.